


Dressing Room conversations

by schaltdeingehirneinfachmalab



Category: Downton Abbey
Genre: F/M, Friendship, Other
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-11-03
Updated: 2015-11-03
Packaged: 2018-04-29 19:20:05
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 955
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5139566
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/schaltdeingehirneinfachmalab/pseuds/schaltdeingehirneinfachmalab
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Missing scene of Series 6 Episode 7</p>
<p>Mary comes into her bedroom after her break-up with Henry Talbot.<br/>Anna tries her best to be a good friend to Mary.</p>
<p>- I suck at summaries -</p>
            </blockquote>





	Dressing Room conversations

**Author's Note:**

> So, here it is my second fanfiction.
> 
> As I watched the episode for the fifth or sixth or I don't know how many times, I started to wonder what happened between Mary and Anna.

Mary almost struggled to open the door as she went up to her room at Rosamund’s house.Her face was covered in tears, she could not hold back. Surely it was the right thing, breaking up with Henry. She would not survive heartbreak as she was far too shocked and depressed only by his friend’s death. What if it would have been him? She could not even imagine the state she would have been in now.

No, she needed to protect herself. For her son and for Downton. She had to be strong. And she could not be strong, if death was looming over her man ever minute.

So why was she crying into her pillows now? She should feel lucky to have escaped him. Proud for taking that so important step. Maybe Tom was right, and she had to take a risk. Maybe it was even the biggest risk of her life, giving her heart to another man after everything that happened to Matthew. Maybe Henry really was the right man for her?

The thing was: she would survive without him. She would be living her life as a widow at Downton until her father died and George was old enough to take the Abbey over. She would still have some of her London friends and go out once in a while and maybe Tom would settle with a nice woman somewhere near her. Yes, she could handle all this. But there was this creeping thought, that she didn’t want this. She didn’t want to spend the rest of her life as an old, widowed woman. She wanted a companion.

No, she wanted Henry as a companion. He made her dizzy and her life exciting. It would never be boring with him and she hated boredom. He challenged her with his sometimes a little bit self-righteous and arrogant manor. He was so like her, but on the other hand so different. He had all the confidence, she was sometimes lacking. Henry wasn’t afraid to contradict her and she could debate and flirt with him forever. And as much as he was a romantic, he still had that cheeky side, that so many of her former suitors had been missing. Having all that and losing it again, would surely break her heart in one million pieces. So breaking up with him now, before she was getting used to his presence was the best thing she could do.

When all the tears had dried and she had assured herself that there wouldn’t follow anymore, she called for Anna. As always she could detect with one look what was going on. Although Mary’s red eyes had been a good clue.

“It has been a dark day, Milady. Don’t worry too much.” Anna tried to comfort her.

“It’s not that” Mary just couldn’t lie to a woman like Anna. As much as she was her servant, Anna had really grown into a sister. She was by far a better sister and friend to her, than some other person’s in her life.

“You don’t have to say” Anna really was the purest soul.

“No, no. You will find it out soon enough, so that doesn’t matter. Mr Talbot just telephoned and I decided that it would be better, if we go on separate ways now. That’s all”

“That’s a rather sad day for him. Losing his best friend and then his relationship. Poor guy. I’m sorry, I didn’t want to judge.”

“No, of course you’re right. I would have preferred it on another day, too. But leading him on, because of the car crash would have been far worse.”

They drifted off in silence as Anna helped Mary out of her clothes into her night gown. Anna knew Mary far too good and so she suspected there was more to it than Mary admitted “I hope you’re not too sad, Milady. Mr Talbot seemed like a very nice gentleman”.

“Yes, he was. He is. But as you said: his life and mine are just too different. Today has been the proof. I can’t… I can’t do it another time.” Mary was still too shocked to say it out loud. Losing Matthew has hurt so much and on a day like this the grief tried to come to the surface all over again.

“Can I be honest for a minute, Lady Mary?” when there was no response, Anna continued “If ending this, hurts you so much, I think, this feelings must be worth some risks. I know it far too well, but if you have found someone you can imagine spending the rest of your life with, you have to risk something. Mr Talbot seems like a sensible man and he seems to love you very much. This kind of devotion is very hard to find. And you don’t know: he lost his friend today. That must have changed him. So maybe all the points that were against him just yesterday have turned to the opposite. You must at least give him a chance”

Although Anna was brutally honest, Mary didn’t mind. It was rather relieving that some of her thoughts replicated in Anna’s speech. But there was still that fearful and sad voice in her. “You could be right. But I’m convinced that the risk of me falling into the depression is a very high one. And I’m not sure, if Mr Talbot would be worth it”

As Anna left the room again, Mary was laying back into her bed. Relaxed as she was the pain came back again and all the tears flowed down her still damp cheeks. For hours she couldn’t decide if it were tears over Matthew and Charlie or tears over losing quite possibly Henry.

**Author's Note:**

> This is only my second published fanfiction and it was written while I was avoiding studying :P  
> I haven't corrected it, so I hope there are not too many mistakes in it.   
> Please be gentle.   
> To be honest, I thought it rather hard to write for Mary and Anna. It was far easier writing for Henry and Mary, which I will probably do again after this :P


End file.
